HOMEMADE CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE RECIPE

To really impress your guests, use my Chocolate Pie Crust. They will flip.

CHOCOLATE MERINGUE PIE RECIPE

Chocolate Custard
3 eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
2 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
3 TBS unsalted butter
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Meringue
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp kosher salt
6 TBS powdered sugar, sifted
homemade pastry pie crust, recipe below

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, bring 2-1/2 cups of milk till bubbles start forming (DO NOT BOIL). Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir in remaining milk with 3 egg yolks. In another bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp kosher salt; whisking in yolk mixture until smooth. SLOWLY whisk in the hot milk; return the mixture to the saucepan.

Over medium-high heat, cook and stir mixture until it comes to a full boil (large bubbles in the middle). Boil for 30 seconds and remove from the heat.

Add the butter to the custard and mix until smooth. Add the vanilla and combine. Strain mixture through a sieve; pushing through with a spatula. Pour into pie shell.

PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees.

For meringue, in a large mixing bowl beat ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until soft peaks form. Gradually add 6 tablespoons sugar, beating on high speed about 4 minutes or until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves.

Pour warm filling into cooled crust. Immediately spread meringue over filling, carefully sealing to edge of crust to prevent shrinkage.

Bake for 15 minutes until meringue is golden brown. DO NOT over-bake because the meringue can weep. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving. You may want to "hide" this chocolate meringue pie recipe. You will be begged for it.

LOVE CHOCOLATE? Then you must make this in my FAMOUS CHOCOLATE PIE CRUST

You may use your favorite pie crust but for this chocolate meringue pie recipe this pastry is perfect. To make this crust, place the butter and the lard in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. I have also used a homemade graham cracker crust and it was DELISH.

PASTRY PIE CRUST

1-1/2 cups flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp white sugar
8 TBS unsalted butter, FROZEN and cut into 8 pieces
2 TBS lard, FROZEN and cut into 2 pieces
4-6 TBS ice water

Put the flour, salt and sugar on a large cutting board, and mix them with your fingers to blend. Put the frozen butter and lard into the flour mixture. Use a large kitchen knife or pastry cutter to cut the fats quickly into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse meal - with some butter and lard pieces still as large as 1/2" in diameter. Ideally, half the fat should be cut finely into the flour and the other half left in large chunks.

Mound the dough and use the side of your hand and press into the dough to form a "trench." Place 1 tablespoon of cold water in and incorporate the water into the dough. Repeat. After you have incorporated 4 Tbsp of water, the dough should begin to clump together into large pieces.

Gather the dough into a mass with a pastry scraper, and, again working quickly, with the heel of your hand smear a hunk of dough roughly the size of an egg by pushing from you. Continue with pieces of dough until all of the dough has been done this way. Gather and form together; wrapping in saran wrap. Press down to flatten it and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight before using it.

Roll out the chilled dough into a circle 1-1/2 inches larger then your pie pan. Line the pan with the dough, and trim it to leave a 1/2-inch overhang of pastry around the pan. Fold this under, forming a thick edge on the rim of the pan. Makes one 9-inch pie crust.